DonorPerfect Releases December Online Giving Results – Overall December giving up 8% over last year

A representative sample of 453 organizations that used DonorPerfect to collect online donations in December of both 2011 and 2012 experienced a growth of 8.27% in total dollars raised. In addition, December 31st giving increased 57%, likely because of the uncertainties of the “Fiscal Cliff” that could have affected donor behavior.

Horsham, PA, January 2, 2013 – DonorPerfect Fundraising software announced today that nonprofit organizations that use DonorPerfect and collected online donations in both December 2011 and 2012 realized an increase of 8.27% in overall total giving. Furthermore, December 31, 2012 (the last day to take advantage of tax deductions for charitable gifts in the 2012 tax year), saw an increase of 57% over December 31, 2011.

While the last day of the year has traditionally raised the most money online, the increase of 57% over last year shows the uncertainty that donors experienced before they gave money online, likely due to the uncertain outcome of the dreaded “Fiscal Cliff” tax negotiations that permeated the news media the final week of the year.

Jon Biedermann, Vice President of Fundraising Products for SofterWare remarked, “It’s clear that donating online continues to grow, and that the dollars raised have a significant impact on nonprofit organizations. Donors are expecting nonprofit organizations to have the right tools and technology that make it easy for a donor to make a gift before the end of the tax year.”

“Furthermore, the last day of the year accounted for nearly 20% of all of December’s giving, and also accounts for the lion’s share of larger average gift sizes. For example, the average donation amount for December 2012 was $213.70, while just on December 31, it increased to $265.26, reflecting the fact that major donors wait until the end of the year to give larger gifts. That’s why it’s important for all nonprofits to have a clear strategy to target donors during the last week of the year.”

Rob Strickler, WebLink Product Manager for SofterWare commented, “When people want to donate, they want to do it in the easiest way possible. While it’s important to have an online donation form, that’s not enough. Every year we communicate to our clients the importance of a multi-channel marketing campaign that targets their constituents through a combination of email, social media campaigns, phone calls, newsletters, and even postcards. These efforts have proven to bring in the most donors and dollars possible.”

“While we previously reported that the 25% giving increase from the #GivingTuesday campaign could likely not be sustained, it’s still very encouraging to see an 8% increase,” Biedermann concluded. “While the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ negotiations may have caused some donors to time their giving to make a larger donation now than in 2013, overall giving continues to grow over time since the economic recovery started a couple of years ago.”

For more information on how DonorPerfect helps thousands of nonprofit organizations raise money, please visit donorperfect.com

About SofterWare, Inc.

SofterWare, Inc., based in Horsham, Pennsylvania is a leading provider of software to nonprofit organizations, with over 10,000 clients throughout the world. DonorPerfect, its fundraising/CRM solution, received more “Excellent” ratings than any other vendor in N-TEN and Idealware’s “A Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Solutions”. It also received the Campbell Award for “Excellent Customer Satisfaction”.

In addition to the company’s DonorPerfect fundraising software, SofterWare also offers software for managing childcare centers, public and private schools, and camps and conference centers. For more information on SofterWare and its products, please visit www.softerware.com. For more information on DonorPerfect Fundraising Software, please visit www.donorperfect.com or www.donorperfect.ca.